Do you arrive the day prior to sailing?

[NisiNirvana]

Now I just have to decide which hotel in Miami. Many of you like the Intercontinental. I'll have to check out the rates as that will be a factor.

 

For our trip in January, we stayed at the Best Western On the Bay Inn in North Bay Village, and were very pleased with it. They had great rates, which included a free deluxe continental breakfast, pickup from Miami airport, and transportation to the port (although they would not pick up at the port after the cruise).

 

They were very helpful. Our first flight in the morning was delayed 1/2 hour due to ice, we missed the connection, and eventually arrived in Miami 18 hours late. We just had to call, and they were right there to get us. They have an open-air restaurant on-site, right on the beautiful bay. The food was good, not great, and not unreasonably priced for dinner. The pool was very nice.

 

They scheduled our port shuttle when we checked in. It left right on time, and got us there exactly when we requested. I'm not sure, but it seems like it was a 10-15 minute ride. The driver was helpful in dealing with the very pushy and nasty porters in the port (who would have scared the life out of me if we had driven).

 

Now, for the negatives. The section of the hotel that we stayed in was older, and showed it. It wasn't bad, but had older-style doors and decor. It was, however, very clean and well-kept. Luckily, we were away from the restaurant. It seemed to be a loud local hotspot, and would probably have made sleeping difficult in a room nearby.

 

As I said before, they will not pick you up from the port, even if you are staying again, as we did. We split the cost of 1-day Enterprise rental with the other couple with whom we were traveling, and that was a great decision. Enterprise runs many shuttles to the port, and we didn't even have to call them to get us. We had planned to, but the friendly driver just told us to get onboard, that there was no need to wait. They took us to the car, we took it to Bayside that night for dinner at Bubba Gump's, and when we dropped it off the next day, they were great about getting us to the airport in a timely manner.

 

The only other problem with the hotel was telephone communication. When we booked, the guy answering the phone had a very thick accent, and we both had trouble understanding one another (I'm sure that my Ohio drawl didn't help matters). We had the same trouble when we checked in, but they got everything right, nonetheless.

 

Anyway, if we go back to Miami, I will stay there again. It wasn't fancy, but was perfect for pre- and post- cruise, as well as being quite affordable.

[KS17]

Okay, since you have all convinced me to arrive a day before my cruise...

 

We will be looking for a hotel that sleeps 5 without having to get a suite or two rooms. Anyone know if any of the hotels near the Miami port sleep 5?